Here is another afterthought on my Travels in South-Sea
Wherever I went in the South Sea, it was common standard that people did not smoke at places where you ate or where you were “in public”.
And the same was quite naturally also true outdoors. In public places, I found the occasional no-smoking sign. But those seemed to be there more because of us visitors than anyone else. Because you get the impression that no native on the many small islands ever smokes in public places (on a few other islands in the South Sea, however, the bad habit of chewing betel (Betelkauen) seems to be commonly accepted – which you can immediately see from the red spots on the ground).
It all reminded me of the fuss we in Bavaria made about it. First, our government passed a bill that should have been passed a long time ago but was at least very simple and clear against smoking in public rooms. Immediately, the lobbyists of the tobacco industry united and organized protest. A few smokers were additionally recruited, and already you had a huge fight (and nonsense).
In the South Sea, there was nothing like it. In public places, as well as in busses – which, of course, are usually completely “open-air” – nobody would ever dream of smoking. Mind you, in the South Sea, not just the busses, but basically all public places are in “public” in the truest sense of the word.
In our Bavarian home, however, the government (as basically always happens) bent their knee before the lobbyists and modified the law. Then they organized a plebiscite in order to make an even stricter law. People were made ever so fearful about what atrocious consequences such a stricter law might have.
The law was accepted and implemented. After that, they predicted the loss of freedom and a small apocalypse in Bavaria. Nothing happened – except that the number of smokers decreased, which is basically a good thing. Now nobody talks about non-smokers’ protection any more. The strict non-smoker protection has become something very normal.
But all of this happened a long time ago. Since then, much has been going on around us. For example there is the reversal of the EURO principle from every European state having its own responsibility to now Europe being accountable for all. Another example is the Arabian States dissolving, probably with the final result of Islamism prevailing. And now there is the radio-active disaster in Japan.
🙂 I, however, am quite happy that we in Bavaria have at long last at least managed to catch up with both other civilized states and diverse South Sea Islands with respect to smoking.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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